Growing Up
by Strawberry Eggs
Summary: With being the world's first human-manakete hybrid, no one knew to expect this growth spurt, least of all Nah herself. Speaking to her mother and dear Morgan assuages her worries. One-shot.


**Spoiler Warning: Takes place after Fire Emblem: Awakening, so spoilers galore!**

This one-shot is connected to "On a Dragon Wing and a Prayer," but it's not necessary to read that fic first to enjoy this one.

* * *

People tended to think that Nah aged at the same slow, steady rate all the time. This was not the case. She would grow in spurts. For a year, maybe under two years sometimes, she would age at a a seemingly normal rate, then stand still for another year or so after that. Over two years ago, such a growth spurt started. That it continued this long was rather strange by itself. Making it even stranger were the times when she seemed to age faster than a human, though it went back to an average rate a few months back. Nah had to admit, it had her scared.

Nah sat down to try to talk to her mother about this and what normal manakete maturation rates were supposed to be like. They were in the common room of the large house her parents purchased. Nah's father Libra wanted to make it into an orphanage, as he hoped to provide a loving home to children like him and his daughter from the future. There were many repairs to be done and Libra's dragonkin family helped where they could, even if Nowi goofed off at times.

"So, what do think is going on? Will I keep aging like this? Will I start aging too fast again? I'm way taller than you are, for Naga's sake!" Nah asked with an excitable nervousness.

"I'll say! It's just not fair that you're already bigger than me! I'm going to have to step it up, too!" Nowi exclaimed.

"'Step it up?'" Nah repeated quizzically. Her mother winked and Nah sighed. "Mother, I'm being serious! This has never happened to me before."

"Oh Nah, you're such a worrywart," Nowi said. She beamed a smile, "Tell me, what's the biggest difference between you and me?"

"Uh, I actually crack open a book now and then?" Nah replied with more than a hint of snark.

"No, silly!" Nowi said with a chuckle, "I'm talking about your father."

"Father?" Nah blinked and said, "Oh right, I'm half human."

"Exactly! Humans grow much faster than manaketes."

Nah let out a sigh and felt like slapping her forehead. "Of course I ignore the obvious answer."

She concentrated a lot on her manakete heritage and while she never forgot she was human as well, she gave it little thought. It just never occurred to her that her startling development was due to her human side.

Yes, _development_. Nah was not just growing taller. She looked to be about fourteen years old now. She was an adolescent, still a far cry from her actual age of nineteen, but no longer a child per se.

_Was I, am I going through puberty? _Nah wondered to herself. She wasn't completely sure of all that entailed, and certainly not how it differed between humans and manaketes. She did know it meant her body was preparing for adulthood, and growth spurts were often involved.

_I should have figured out that humans would mature sooner than manaketes. Maybe being half manakete somehow caused me to age so quickly for a little while. Or I just started late and my human side is trying to catch up._

"You're probably right," Nah said, after pausing for a bit longer, "It happened so suddenly that I panicked. I mean, what if I kept aging like that and became an old lady in ten years?!"

Nowi smiled and gave her daughter an embrace. "You're the one who wants to act all grown up, and look what happens when you start to."

"Uh—" Was all Nah could said in response. She blushed slightly. Finally, Nah said, "I'm the world's first half-manakete. It's not just new to me; it's new to everyone."

"Growing up is different for everyone, even if it's a little more different for you, Nah. I don't know what it's like for humans, but you can always talk to Robin or one of the other Shepherds," Nowi suggested.

_I'll just read a book about it_ Nah thought, cringing mentally. She knew enough that it would be be an awkward discussion. She then gave a small smile and said, "Thank you, Mother. I feel better now. You know, you keep surprising me with how level headed you can be. Maybe what they say is true: with age comes wisdom."

"Hey, just 'cause you're growing up, Nah, doesn't mean you get to call me old," Nowi pouted.

"You're over one thousand years old, Mother. What else am I suppose to call you?" The two dragonkin exchanged good-natured laughter. Not for the first time, Nah was glad that she could appreciate her mother more, now that she understood her better.

* * *

A few days passed after Nah's discussion with Nowi. She was walking to Ylisstol Square to meet with Morgan. It was a beautiful early autumn day. The sun was bright and there was brisk crispness to the air that hinted at the coming cold. She and Morgan were going to eat lunch at a new tea shop that opened in the capital before traveling to a wooded area just outside the city to view the fall foliage.

After Grima was destroyed for good by Robin's (thankfully temporary) sacrifice two years ago, most of the children from the future chose to leave their parents to travel the continent, or even left for Valm. Nah and Morgan were among the few who stayed with their parents. Morgan was too young to be traveling by himself at the time, and he did not want to burden his peers with him tagging along. He also very much wanted to be with his mother for a while longer and to get to know his father better.

Nah stayed with her parents for multiple reasons, though she at felt guilty at first, thinking she was taking advantage of their kindness. First and foremost, she had no idea what to do with herself now that this world was saved. Nah was so focused on doing whatever she could to help stop Grima's resurrection, and prove her abilities, that she gave little thought to what she would do next. She assumed they would all be sent back to their timeline, but Naga said that was beyond even her powers. Apparently their future world was saved, too, according to the Divine Dragon, although it would take many years for the few remaining people to recover and rebuild. Nah decided to contemplate her options and help her alternate world parents build the orphanage in the meantime. She was considering somehow taking advantage of her very long lifespan to help the world in some way. She had no idea how, but she had a lot of time to figure that out.

Nah also couldn't travel by herself. Even if she actually looked like a teenager these days, there could be still be trouble for someone as young-looking as her, never mind her gender. Of course, she didn't want to travel alone, either. After years of being all but abandoned and being afraid to get close to people, she now had family, friends, and dear Morgan. She wanted to be by his side, or at least live near him and see him on a regular basis. They had spoken at length about traveling together in another year or so, but for now, they lived in Ylisstol.

When Nah arrived at the fountain square, she found Morgan standing and apparently looking out for her. He then saw the blonde girl and smiled from ear to ear. Nah jogged over and embraced him.

"Were you waiting long?" she asked him.

"Not at all, Nah. I just got here, too." Morgan assured her with a quick kiss.

"That's good," she said, disengaging the hug. In what felt like the first time in a long while, she took a good look at Morgan. While she growing up, so was he. He still looked older than her. Onlookers who didn't know them would think Morgan was two-to-three years her senior instead of Nah being the same number of years older.

As Nah thought would be the case, Morgan's boyish cuteness was giving way to more mature, handsome feature. He was taller and he so far avoided a gangly phase she heard adolescent humans go through. His face was becoming more angular, but his ever-smiling warm, brown eyes remained the same. The contrast made the girl blush.

_ I'm growing up with him_, Nah thought, _ It never occurred to me before, but what if I had kept aging the way I was before: a little for one year, then stopping for the next two or three more? Morgan would look so much older than me. What if I still looked like a kid, even when he has matured into a man? I'm sure Morgan would still care about me, but I'd feel like I would be holding him back. _

"Nah? What's wrong?"

The blue-haired boy's voice snapped her out of her ruminations and she asked, "Uh, Morgan?"

"Are you okay? You were just staring and spacing out."

Nah shook her head slightly, as if trying to loosen the thoughts from the forefront of her mind.

"Oh, uh, I was just … I was staring at you!" Nah replied, flustered. She looked away and flushed a little before continuing, "You've grown so handsome since we came to the past. I somehow hadn't noticed until now. I couldn't help staring."

It was the truth, she just hadn't told him the whole truth. She didn't want to tell him about her worries over the growth spurt. She certainly didn't want to mention the word "puberty" in front of him and that if it hadn't happened, she may still look like a child now. At least, she didn't want to talk to him about it right then and there. She still wanted to sort out her thoughts more first.

Morgan blushed and nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"Me, handsome?" Morgan said with a slight laugh, "I don't really know what to say except … thank you? I'm flattered, really! You've call me dashing before, so I should be used to it by now."

"Well, you're dashing in a more handsome way now."

Morgan chuckled sheepishly, still blushing. He said, "We'll, you've grown prettier since we first came here, Nah ."

"Me? Really?"

"Of course. I mean, you're amazing in so many other ways. You're smart, curious, thoughtful, nice, and funny in a sarcastic way. But you're also pretty."

"Oh, Morgan," Nah said with a happy sigh. She reached up to kiss him, which Morgan returned softly, "You're too good to me, you know that?"

"Only because you're too good to me."  
Nah flushed again, but smiled. _With age comes charm at least in his case,_ Nah added in thought.

Soon, the young couple started to walk to the new tea shop. Nah allowed herself to get lost in thoughts again.

_Even if this change in the way I age is kind of strange, I'm very glad for it. I don't think it will last long, but at least we can actually grow up together. After all, we probably can't grow old together … No! Don't think that way!_

_ We'll travel together in the near future. And maybe, years from now, we could get married. No rush. Morgan's almost of age, but I don't think he's ready for that. Or that I'm ready for that. We can still take our time with things._

* * *

**AN: **Oh look, I actually did get around to one of those one-shots like I said I might!

But yeah, this fic outlines how I think Nah will age for the next several years. Or as the kids like to call it, it's my "headcanon." I haven't completely decided if part of her aging is due to her shape-shifting abilities affecting her body subconsciously. You can read that into this story, if you'd like.

Nah will continue to age at a "normal" pace until she looks like she's in her mid-twenties. Then she'll virtually stop for the next few centuries. I may explore this in detail in a future fic, but I won't make any promises. I don't have the time I used to for fanfiction (and I never had much time to begin with, ha). I'd like to think that in spite of Nah's long life and her anxieties never really going away, that she and Morgan live their lives to the fullest. Keep in mind that I can be something of an idealist when it comes to my most beloved ships.

This was kind of an odd story, but I hope you all enjoyed it. If you did (and even if you didn't), please let me know what you thought in a review.

The cover is a commission I asked **Candice Kang** to make. You can find her as **DoodledStars** on Twitter and Tumblr.


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